Death of a politician raises tension in Ukraine

By
Euronews

Ukraine’s acting president has ordered the relaunch of military operations against pro-Russian militants in the east following a ratcheting up of unrest and violence in the country.

Oleksandr Turchynov accused Russia of aiding “terrorists” whom he said killed a politician from his own party.

The body of Vladimir Ryback along with that of a second man were found near rebel-held Slovyansk and were said to have shown marks of torture.

In another incident, the defence ministry said a Ukrainian military surveillance plane was hit by small arms fire while flying over the east.

In the separatist-held hotspot of Kramatorsk local media broadcast images of what were claimed to be the City Police Chief Vitaliy Kolupai being led away from police headquarters by Pro- Russian activists.

It is reported he has been taken to Slovyansk where he is allegedly being held against his will.

In defiance of constant calls from the West for Russia to pull back its troops from Ukraine’s border, a Russian military unit has been filmed carrying out drills using military transport vehicles to forge a river in the Rostov-on-Don region.

Whether by design or by coincidence a US guided-missile frigate has returned to the Black Sea after repairs in Crete. What has been a deliberate move is the deployment of 600 US troops to the Baltic to reassure western allies.